Chile arrests welder for massive wildfire

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Chilean police have arrested a man they said is responsible for the worst forest fire in decades in the hills above the port of Valparaiso.

Police Gen. Julio Pineda told State TV that Carlos Rivas, a 27-year-old mason with the RVC construction company, admitted to police early Saturday that he accidentally ignited the blaze when he was cutting steel panels with a welder's torch.

"Everything points to an accident, but we'll need to determine if someone else is responsible," Pineda said. "For now, he's the one."

The RVC construction company has issued a statement denying any wrongdoing. But Rivas said in a written statement that his boss asked him to lie and cover up his role in the fire.

Local television aired images of Rivas being taken into a court in Valparaiso for a hearing followed by a mob of photographers and camera crews. TV reporters said he was joined by distraught family members, among them his mother, who fainted twice before she reached the courtroom.

During the hearing, Valparaiso prosecutor Victor Avila read Rivas' statement, in which he says his boss pressured him to tell police that he was painting instead of welding.

"While the bushes were on fire, the site manager (Cristian Berrios) asked me: 'Carlos, what happened?' I answered that this mess was the outcome of the work that he made me do," the prosecutor read.

"When police arrived to the site, the manager told me, 'Carlos, you have to man up to this on your own.' ... Mr. Berrios then called me at around 8 p.m. asking me to say that I was painting and that I never used the welding tools."

RVC company officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Chile's emergency office, ONEMI, issued a red alert after the blaze broke out on Thursday in the city's San Roque hill, about 75 miles northeast of the capital, Santiago.

The fire destroyed more than 100 homes and forced the evacuation of more than 1,200 people. At least 27 people were injured, including five children.

Strong, changing winds and hot, dry weather at the height of the Southern Hemisphere's summer holiday season stoked the fire.